04072026-LT-01.qxd 7/4/2026 12:39 AM Page 1 c m y b Ludhiana tribune POLICE OFFICIALS DESTROY 150 BIKE SILENCERS Modified silencers that made loud cracking sounds were seized from two-wheelers on local roads. P2 » TREE THAT ONCE LENT ITS SHADE TO GURU 51ST STATE — BRYAN ADAMS’ PROTEST SONG In 1704, Guru Gobind Singh is said to have rested under the shade of the reru tree in Doraha. P3 Bryan Adams has released song titled 51st State in what appears to be a response to US President. P4 » » FORECAST PARTLY CLOUDY MAX 33°C | MIN 25°C YESTERDAY MAX 33°C | MIN 26°C SUNSET SATURDAY 7.28 PM SUNRISE SUNDAY 5:25 AM SATURDAY | 4 JULY 2026 | LUDHIANA District leads women aid scheme registration with 5L beneficiaries Shivani Bhakoo Tribune News Service Ludhiana, July 3 Ever since the state government deposited three months’ instalments of Rs 3,000 for women belonging to the General category and Rs 4,500 for Scheduled Caste women into bank accounts of the beneficiaries on July 1, there has been a surge in the number of women approaching ward councillors and government authorities to get their forms filled to avail the benefits of the Mukh Mantri Mawan Dhiyan Satkar Yojana. Till July 3, the district has recorded the highest number of registrations under the scheme with 5,05,850 beneficiaries. SAS Nagar has reported the lowest number of registrations with 94,145 beneficiaries. Across the state, a total of 50,23,560 beneficiaries from the General and Scheduled Caste categories have been registered under the scheme so far. District-wise registrations are as follows: Ludhiana (5,05,850), Patiala (4,65,994), Gurdaspur (3,66,853), Jalandhar (3,49,225), Sangrur Over 50 lakh registered in state so far |In Ludhiana, nearly 1.48 lakh women received payments on July 1 ISTOCK (3,36,585), Amritsar (3,31,419), Hoshiarpur (3,00,427), Bathinda (2,91,008), Sri Muktsar Sahib (2,54,724), Fazilka (2,51,694), Moga (2,38,597), Mansa (2,17,207), Ferozepur (1,91,502), Tarn Taran (1,63,980), Faridkot (1,60,021), Pathankot (1,38,616), Rupnagar (1,37,465), Malerkotla (1,20,872), Fatehgarh Sahib (1,17,428), Barnala (1,16,259), SBS Nagar (1,12,581), Kapurthala (1,10,733), and SAS Nagar (94,145). Deputy Commissioner Himanshu Jain said as Ludhiana is state’s largest district in terms of population, it naturally has the highest number of beneficiaries. “Registrations are being carried out daily across the state and it was a continuous process being under- 30-year-old woman found dead; spouse held, 3 others booked Tribune News Service Ludhiana, July 3 A 30-year-old woman was found dead under suspicious circumstances at her matrimonial home in Shimlapuri late on Wednesday night. Following a complaint by her family, the Shimlapuri police have registered a dowry death case against her husband, mother-in-law and two sisters-in-law. Later, her husband was nabbed. The deceased, Chetna, was a resident of Mohalla Nanaksar in Shimlapuri. She had married Harjinder Singh, a contractual employee with Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) on September 14, 2022. According to the police, Chetna was found lying on a bed inside her in-laws’ house with a dupatta around her neck. The body was taken into custody and sent for a postmortem examination. In her statement to the police, Chetna’s mother, Sunita Rani, alleged that her daughter had been subjected to harassment by her husband and his family over dowry since the marriage. She claimed that the accused had been demanding cash and other articles and often pressured Chetna when those demands were not fulfilled. Sunita told the police that she received a phone call around 11.15 pm on July 1 informing her that her daughter had died. When she reached the house, she allegedly found Chetna lying on the bed with a dupatta wrapped around her neck. Holding the in-laws responsible for her daughter’s death, Sunita alleged that Chetna was killed over dowry-related harassment. Acting on the complaint, the Shimlapuri police registered an FIR against the husband, mother-in-law and two sisters-in-law under Sections 80(2) (dowry death) and 3(5) (common intention) of the BNS. The police said her husband had been arrested while raids were being conducted to trace the remaining suspects. Further investigation was in progress. taken by the AAP government. More eligible women will be able to avail the scheme’s benefits in coming days,” he said. Meanwhile, there is enthusiasm among eligible women to get themselves registered under the scheme. Pooja, a resident of the Civil Lines area, whose application is yet to be submitted, said there had been a rush at registration centres. “We have been informed that even if our applications are completed in August, we will receive all four due instalments together instead of losing the earlier ones due to delayed registration,” she said. The scheme was rolled out across the state on July 1, under which Rs 3,000 each for General category women and Rs 4,500 each for Scheduled Caste women were transferred to bank accounts of eligible beneficiaries. In Ludhiana alone, nearly 1.48 lakh women received payments covering the three months — July, August and September. Infighting in Cong comes to fore, Ashu, Kotli, others from city attend Channi’s meeting Shivani Bhakoo Tribune News Service Ludhiana, July 3 Again, infighting in the Congress has come to the fore as MP from Ludhiana Amrinder Singh Raja Warring was reappointed as president of the PPCC. During a meeting called by former CM Charanjit Singh Channi in Jalandhar on Friday, a few local Congress leaders from the city, who were not happy with the decision of the high command, attended the meeting while many others preferred to stay away. Well-placed sources in the Congress cadre said the meeting was attended by Bharat Bhushan Ashu, Gurkirat Kotli, Kamaljit Karwal and Lakhbir Singh Lakha from Payal. Meanwhile, the majority of Congress leaders in Ludhiana preferred to remain quiet over the development. However, Surinder Dawar, who has been in the Congress for the past 40 years, said he had nothing to do with the ongoing controversy and would not interfere as, for him, the high command’s decision was commendable. “Moreover, Warring has a lot of influence among the people and he is doing well. Hence, the decision taken by the high Talwar, Dawar hail high command’s trust in Warring Congress leaders during a meeting in Jalandhar on Friday. command must have been well thought out”, he said. Sanjay Talwar, district president of the Congress, who is a close aide of Warring, said the group led by Charanjit Singh Channi has called the meeting. “Perhaps, they did not like Warring becoming the PPCC president again but it is the high command’s decision, which we all should accept. As far as Warring is concerned, since his position is powerful, he will play a major role in the ticket distribution for the upcoming Assembly elections. But the entire committee’s suggestions will also be involved in finding best suitable candidates,” he said. Another senior Congress leader said former minister Bharat Bhushan Ashu; Gurkeerat Kotli; Lakhbir Lakha, former MLA Payal; and Kamaljit Singh Karwal, who had gone to attend the meeting, had given an indication that they were not happy with the decision Morning walker dies in hit-&-run, neighbour hurt Caught unawares Tribune News Service Motorists commute during rain at Haibowal Chowk in Ludhiana on Friday. PHOTO: ASHWANI DHIMAN Courts can allow additional evidence at any stage, says High Court Saurabh Malik Tribune News Service Chandigarh, July 3 The Punjab and Haryana High Court has ruled that courts must not be prevented from considering evidence necessary to arrive at the truth and render a just decision. The Bench held that the power to permit additional evidence during the course of trial could not be curtailed by adopting a hyper-technical approach. Justice Manisha Batra observed that the object of Section 348 of the BNSS was to enable courts to arrive at the truth and render a just decision. The provision empowered courts to permit production of additional oral or documentary evidence whenever such evidence was considered necessary for the just adjudication of a case. The assertion came as Justice Manisha Batra upheld an order passed by Ludhiana Judicial Magistrate First Class (JMFC), allowing the com- Assertion came as Justice Manisha Batra upheld an order passed by JMFC in a cheque dishonour case plainant in a cheque dishonour case to examine his firm’s accountant and produce additional business records, including invoices, ledger account, GST registration certificate, GST returns, balance sheet and audit report. The Bench, during the course of hearing, was told that a complainant instituted proceedings under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, alleging that the petitioner had issued a cheque, dated October 12, 2022, for Rs 10 lakh, which was dishonoured on November 11, 2022, with the remark “account closed.” A legal notice dated December 7, 2022, was served upon the petitioner, who replied to the notice but failed to make payment, following which the complaint was filed. During the trial, the complainant was cross-examined on April 29 and August 28, 2025. During cross-examination, he admitted that invoices, bills, GST registration certificate, GST returns, ledger account, balance sheet and books of accounts had been in his possession even before filing the complaint but had not been produced before the court. He further admitted that, except for the account statement already exhibited, no document had been placed on record to establish the alleged outstanding liability. Thereafter, the complainant moved an application, seeking permission to examine the firm’s accountant and produce the additional documents. The petitioner opposed the application, contending that it was an attempt to fill lacunae in the complainant’s case after the defence had already been disclosed during cross-examination. of the high command. “Other leaders who were present in the meeting include OP Soni and Tripat Bajwa. The leaders who have attended the meeting have many other issues and they will take up their grievances with the high command. They are also not happy with the appointment of Warring as the PPCC chief again. A few of them are also waiting eagerly for the announcement of the CM candidate,” said the leader. The trial court, vide order dated April 6 this year allowed the application after holding that the proposed evidence was necessary for a just decision of the case and that the accused would have an opportunity to cross-examine the additional witness. Aggrieved, the petitioner filed the petition seeking quashing of the impugned order. Appearing for the respondent-complainant, advocate Viren Sibal, along with counsel Tisha Kalra, argued that the accountant had already been cited in the list of witnesses at the time of institution of the complaint. His examination, along with the relevant business records, was necessary for the just adjudication of the complaint arising out of commercial transactions. “The intention of the legislature is to empower and enable the court to come to a correct finding and for that reason, the court would be fully justified in permitting c m y b production of evidence, whether documentary or oral, where the court feels that the same is necessary for the just decision of the case. No fetters can be put in exercise of these powers of the court. The cause of justice is paramount and no impediment has, therefore, been intentionally put on the court by the legislature to exercise the powers under this provision,” the court observed. Referring to the Supreme Court decisions, the Bench reiterated that the purpose of the provision was to enable the court to arrive at the truth and prevent failure of justice even where the prosecution or the defence had failed to produce material evidence earlier. Applying the principles, the High Court held that the additional evidence sought to be produced pertained to the very transaction forming the subject matter of the complaint and consisted of business records relevant to the just adjudication of the controversy. The Bench also noted that the proposed witness, the accountant of the complainant’s firm, had admittedly been cited in the list of witnesses at the time of institution of the complaint. Rejecting the argument that the complainant was being permitted to fill gaps in his case, Justice Batra observed: “Merely because certain documents were not produced at an earlier stage would not preclude the court from permitting their production if the court is satisfied that such evidence is essential for a just decision of the case. The power under Section 348 of the BNSS is meant to advance the cause of justice and cannot be curtailed by adopting a hypertechnical approach.” The Bench further held that the petitioner could not be said to have suffered any prejudice as he would have full opportunity to cross-examine the additional witness and rebut the documents sought to be brought on record. Justice Batra asserted: “Unless the order is shown to be arbitrary, perverse or resulting in manifest miscarriage of justice, no interference is warranted. In the present case, the learned trial court has assigned cogent reasons while allowing the application and has exercised the jurisdiction vested in it in accordance with settled principles of law. This court does not find that the impugned order suffers from any jurisdictional error or material irregularity warranting interference.” Finding no merit in the petition, Justice Batra dismissed the plea while clarifying that nothing contained in the order should be construed as an expression on the merits of the cheque dishonour complaint, which would be decided independently by the trial court on the basis of the evidence adduced by the parties. Ludhiana, July 3 A 55-year-old woman was killed after being hit by a speeding car when she was out on a morning walk near Krishna Mandir Road in the Model Town area on Friday. The deceased has been identified as Harpreet Kaur. She had gone for a walk with her neighbour, Meetu, around 6 am when a speeding Swift Dzire allegedly hit them and fled the scene. Harpreet Kaur sustained critical injuries in the accident. She was rushed to a nearby hospital, where doctors declared her dead. Meetu suffered a head injury and is undergoing treatment. Her condition is stated to be stable. According to the police, both women fell on the road due to the collision. The driver did not stop to help the victims and escaped from the place. Model Town SHO Gurshinder Kaur said a case had been registered against an unidentified driver. “We have registered a hit-and-run case against an unidentified suspect. We are tracing the car. It is a second-owner vehicle and efforts are on to identify and arrest the person,” she said. Police teams are examining the CCTV footage from the area and verifying ownership details of the vehicle to trace the driver. Harpreet Kaur is survived by her married daughter and husband. Her death has left family members and residents of the locality in shock. The police said further investigation was underway.